If Today Was Your Last Day
by ScarletShad0w
Summary: Xiao Lan is told that she has cancer and only a month left to live. Doing therapy would lengthen that time, but make her unable to play Second Life. Deciding against therapy she wants to use what time she has left, without having to endure the looks of pity from her friends. Can she keep her secret while achieving her dream of becoming a legend?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello guys, thanks for reading my first half prince story. I would be really happy if you took your time to review as constructive criticism will be a great help in getting better at writing. If you find mistakes, don't be too shy to point them out, as the story is without a beta and I have rather people tell me so that I can correct them instead of cringing at stupid mistakes.**

* * *

Xiao Lan stared at the doctor with disbelief written over her face.

"Please tell me this is a joke"

"I'm sorry Ms Feng. There is nothing I'd like to do more, but sadly I can't. You have breast cancer and it is rapidly growing, breaking off and affecting your other organs. If nothing is done you will only have about a month left. Therapy will lengthen your time to at least 3, if you're lucky 5 months."

5 months wasn't all that much and three even less. There was so much she still wanted to do – create a legend, do another tour with the band, start a family. Heck, she hadn't even had the courage to confess her feelings to Gui or being Prince.

"Is there a chance that I will survive?"

"Very slim, only about 2%."

"How expensive is the therapy and how often will I have to come in for it?"

She had read somewhere that cancer treatment was very expensive and aside from the money that she had made from being Second Life's spokesperson she didn't have much saved up, as pretty much everything went into either daily expenses like food or into the insane costs for university.

"The cost is about 10000 Yuan per treatment. Because your cancer is growing rapidly, you will have to stay in the hospital for observation."

10000?! That was a lot of money. She only got 8000 Yuan a month as a salary and the treatments would be more often than that. And staying in the hospital? That was a definite problem. Not only did she not want to tell anyone about the cancer, which would be difficult if she couldn't leave, she also wouldn't be able to use the time left for anything enjoyable. And spending her last days in the hospital? That was a definite no go.

"10000 is a bit …. Is there a less expensive treatment or a way I could stay at home? The hospital doesn't allow the use of internet and I like to spend time playing second life…"

"I'm sorry Ms Lan. There is no other treatment. Though health care might take over part of the cost. As for playing second life, that will be impossible, even if you were able to stay at home as you are not allowed to play while you are on medicine as the workings of the game helmet interfere with the body."

'No Second Life? That's impossible. Second Life WAS her life. All her friends were there, she even saw her parents more often in Second Life than outside of it.'

"Then I'm not going to take the therapy. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in the hospital wasting away."

"Are you sure? Without treatment you will only have a month. Therapy will give you at least three times that amount."

"I'm sure. Time has no meaning if I can't spend it in the way I want it."

"If you change your mind please contact me. But any later than the end of this week and the treatment won't be able to do much anymore. Please take the prescription to the apothecary."

"Thank you very much Doctor, but I don't think that I will change my mind."

Xiao Lan took the prescription and left in a daze. Cancer. What did she do to deserve this? Normally things like this only happen to other people or in movies. Only one month left and so many things to do…

In the apothecary she tried to greet the sales women with a smile, but failed. It was impossible to do more than a crooked grimace that looked like she wanted to kill someone rather than a smile. When the salesclerk read the paper, she gave Xiao Lan a look of pity. She was way too young to die. Another child gone too early.

"There isn't much you can do against cancer, so the only thing we can give you is painkillers. The different numbers show the strength of the dose, the higher the number the stronger the dose. As you are taking them more often you will grow immune to the lower ones, forcing you to take the stronger pills. The stronger ones are not only more effective, but will also make you feel sleepy and stay longer in your system. So I don't recommend you to take them right before class if you have to pay attention. Also, as long as the medication is in your system, you mustn't use the VR head gear, as both interfere with the nervous system in your body, leading to great health risks. Do you have any questions?"

So even without the treatment she would be unable to play Second Life … wait, the pain felt in second life was only 30%, right? So she should be able to withstand the pain even without the medicine.

"How do I know how long the medicine stays in the system and can I play second life during the night if I don't take the painkillers?"

The clerk gave her a long look and sighed.

"The duration time of the medication is indicated on the pill bottle, but if you really want to make sure I would recommend to wait another additional 10 to 30 minutes depending on the dose. While it will be possible in the beginning, I really wouldn't recommend you to skip the painkillers in the later stage as the pain might be unbearable and forcing yourself will be a strain on your body, shortening your life even further."

Shortening her lifespan? There wasn't much left of it anyway.

"Thank you, ma'am."

Leaving the apothecary with the bag of medicine Xiao Lan made her way to the bus stop. It was lucky that she didn't decide to take her hover bike as she wouldn't have been able to concentrate on the traffic. An accident was the last thing she needed right now.

During the bus ride she thought about what she was to do now with only a month left. Any fulfilment of big dreams was impossible. Marriage and graduating took too much time, she didn't even have a boyfriend and was just in her first year of university. Going travelling would catch the attention of her family and friends which she wanted to avoid. So what WAS possible? While she couldn't marry, she could at least confess to Gui. If he loved her as he always claimed to love Prince, then she could enjoy the rest of her time together with him. If he didn't agree to date Feng Lan, then she at least knew that their relationship wouldn't have worked out anyway, because he only loved Prince. She could also ask Yulian for permission to go on another tour with the Infinite Band. While the last tour had been stressful, it had also been great fun to sing in front of such a big audience. She might also use that occasion to select a substitute Lord for the castle, after all it would be bad if no one knew how to act as the city lord during her absence. It would be easier for them if someone was already used to the role when she couldn't be there anymore.

The bus ride had gone by without notice and she still wasn't prepared to interact with anyone. So she paused a moment in front of the door to mentally prepare herself. She couldn't act any different than normal or the ruse would be up without being started. After taking a deep breath Lan finally entered the house and was promptly greeted by her brother.

"Siiis, I'm hungry. I haven't eaten anything in ages. Make me some food."

Xiao Lan smiled. No matter what happened, trust Feng Wu Quin to be hungry.

"Idiot. You knew that I would be late today. You should have bought something on the way back home."

Despite scolding her brother she started to prepare some omelettes with chicken. After all she hadn't eaten anything either and cooking was a task she quite enjoyed.

That evening in Second Life

As soon as she had logged in, she was ambushed by Yu Lian.

"Good to see finally online, Prince. There are some inquiries from people about new living space in Inifinite City, the tavern has reported problems about food shortage, giant wolves have been trying to attack Sun City, Star City's crops have been hit by bad weather"

Prince sighed. The list of meaningless reports he had to deal with was seemingly endless. Before Yu Lian could continue any further he decided to interrupt.

"This is soooo boring", he whined. " I've been stuck inside of the castle for ages. Can't we do another concert tour? The first one was a great hit after all and I've found some new songs I wanted to sing."

Yu Lian gave him a pitying look.

"You are the city lord, Prince. You can't just run off as you wish."

"I know that Yu Lian dasao. But it's not like the concerts would take long. Together with preparation and travel time they shouldn't take more than two days each. As we are well known already we wouldn't have to wait for people as before. And it's not like I can always be in the castle anyway. It would be laughable if Infinite City stopped working one day because couldn't log in for two weeks because of a cold."

Yu Lian sighed.

"You're right Prince. That would be stupid. We should call a meeting to discuss choosing a vice lord. And when everyone is gathered anyway you can ask the others if they want to do another tour. The treasury could need another boost after all."

Prince grinned.

"Thanks Yu Lian, you're the best."

He immediately sent the members of Dark Phantom and Odd Squad as well as the representations of the other groups a PM for a team meeting.

When everyone had gathered, Yu Lian started the meeting

"Thank you everyone for coming. While Prince whining about paperwork is nothing new", she sent him a scathing look, which he quitted with a sheepish smile,"he brought up a valid point. At the moment he, as the city lord, is the only person who can sign the important documents for infinity city as well as the other cities on the continent. If he couldn't log in for any reason the city administration would sink into chaos. Therefore I propose electing a vice lord, who can govern in Prince's absence."

"Che, as if that would be necessary. After all idiots can't catch a cold" grumbled Ming Huan.

That made Wolf dage who's ears had caught the quiet statement smile.

"That may be true, but while idiots are spared from colds, they are not spared from accidents and Prince can be quite the klutz. It is forbidden to use the VR gear while being under the influence of medicine, as the VR wouldn't be able to work properly."

"Last time Prince's disappearance caused quite the panic, as only Wicked was able to contact him" Nan Gong Zui added, remembering the incident when Prince got lost on another continent by accident, "It would be good to away to avoid that next time."

"Everybody in favour for choosing a vice lord, please raise their hand", Yu Lian prompted.

All hands were raised.

"Any suggestions for the position?", she continued.

"I think that you would make an efficient Vice-Lord", Lolidragon answersd.

"Thank you. But I have already enough work with the treasury.", declined Yu Lian.

"I would love to assist his royal highness" Gui chimed in.

"That wouldn't work as both of you would be absent during concert tours.", his eager proposition was shot down.

"How about Wu Quing?", Prince suggested. "He's in the castle most of the time anyway and doesn't have much work to do. And since Dark Emperor came in close second in the tournament, it would only be fair for one of them to take the position of Vice Lord." What he didn't say was, that he also liked the thought of the position staying in the family. He was the one who started everything, so it would be only fair to pass his dream on her brother.

"Hmm, that could work.", pondered Yu Lian.

"Oi, I don't want the position of Vice Lord. Way too much work to do". Wu Quing spoke up.

Though Yu Lian decided to ignore him.

"Everyone in favour for Wu Qing taking the position of Vice Lord raise their hand"

All hands except Wu Quing's were raised.

"That's not fair. I don't want the position. You can't force me" Wu Quing whined.

"I didn't want it either, deal with it" Prince commented with an evil grin and added in a PM 'Take the position or I won't cook for you anymore, dear brother mine'.

That ended the discussion. While he hated paperwork, starvation wasn't an option and trying to cook by himself was just an invitation for dying of food poisoning.

"With that settled, if no one has anything else that needs to be discussed…." No one spoke up." Then everyone besides Wicked, Gui and Rose is free to go.

When everyone else had left the room, Prince told the others about his plan.

"Staying in the castle all the time is boring, I want to do another concert tour. What do you think?"

"Whatever his highness wants to do, I'm fine with it", Gui agreed.

"I don't mind either" Wicked gave her a kind smile. He loved hearing Xiao Lan sing, and seeing her have so much fun at the concerts was worth all the trouble they have had with the fans.

"I would Love to get out of the castle again and performing is fun. I'm in", Rose agreed.

"Great. I planned on doing one concert in every city again, with Infinite City being the great final. If you're okay with it, I would like to hold the first concert Thursday in two weeks in Sun city, followed by a Star city on Sunday and Moon city the following Thursday. The grand final would be on Monday in Infinite City. That would give us enough time to practice a few new songs and give us some time to travel and recover between locations." What Prince left out was, that holding the concert at the beginning of the fourth week should probably gurantee that he was still alive for it, even if using the VR shortened his lifespan.

"The space between concerts sounds good. But I don't think that I'll be able to come up with new songs and give us enough time to practice with just one and a half week." Gui admitted.

"We don't have to write new songs ourselves, after all we did cover Bon Jovi, too. I've found a few songs that I would like to sing, that would fit well with the other songs we have performed so far. After all we have a theme of love, enjoying life to its fullest and creating a legend."

"Okay, practicing three songs, one for each theme is doable." The other members agreed.

"Want to go to the practice room, so I can show you which songs I was thinking about?"

They made their way to the practice room. On the way Prince's mind was on his mental to do list.

Electing a stand in for City Lord X

Proposing another concert tour X

Concert in sun city

Concert in star city

Concert in moon city

Grand Final in Infinite City

Confessing to Gui

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 **AN: Which songs do you think would be great? While I have already picked out three songs, I might change my decisions if you show me a better alternative.**

 **Anything you liked about the story? Anything you disliked? Please tell me in a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello to all new readers and welcome back to the previous ones. First of all, a big thank you to FairyBookworm for reviewing as well as favouriting the story, CoyoteFang1987 for reviewing and Ro-Hime-Sama for following. After a week with almost no views, no reviews, favs or follows I had already thought no one was interested in reading this. So checking today to find 3 reviews, 1 follov and 1 fav made me so motivated that I wrote the whole chapter in one sitting. You guys rock!**

Chapter 2

When they had reached the practice room, Prince used the control panel to access the songs he had planned on adding to the concert.

"The first song I have chosen is 'If today was your last day' by Nickelback. I think the lyrics fit pretty well together with 'It's my life', telling people to live their life to the fullest, using every day like it was the last. The drums in the background are also perfect for Rose".

As he let the song play, Gui and Wicked imagined Prince rocking the stage, while Rose unconsciously mimicked the movements necessary for the drum performance.

"The second song as well as the third song are from an anime that used to be very popular many years ago. Even though the songs were made in Japan, the lyrics are in English and Latin, so many people should be able to understand them. Though I think feeling the emotions is more important than actually understanding the lyrics. The name of the second song is called 'History maker'"

"It feels like the lyrics were pretty much written for you, Prince", commented Wicked.

"You created Prince, because you didn't want to be weak anymore and fight for yourself instead of always getting protected. And now you can confidently say that you are the most well-known player in second life."

"His highness will write history that will be remembered for generations to come." Agreed Gui, making Prince smile. He really hoped that Gui was right, he wanted to be remembered by the people after his death, even though they would just remember Prince and not Xiao Lan.

"While I agree that the making history part fits, I don't like the "dancing on your blades you set my heart on fire" part. I think "dancing with my blades I set your heart on fire" would fit way better, as seeing Prince fight made the fans fall in love with him."

"It does fit better", nodded Gui. The original lyrics could be interpreted as Prince falling in love with another blade wielder which he didn't like at all, after all his rival Wicked was a swordfighter.

"I don't mind changing the lyrics a bit", shrugged Prince.

After they had heard the last song "Ai ni tsuite: Agape" Wicked was a bit worried.

"The song is beautiful, but since most people won't understand the lyrics, you will need to show them with your voice what it means. Are you sure it will be alright, Prince? After all love songs are your weakness."

"It will be alright. I've gotten better in singing them since our last tour" assured Prince. Last time he couldn't sing them well, because he didn't know the feeling of love. But now he was in love with Gui.

"Also while "agape" means an unconditional love, this doesn't have to be a romantic love, it can mean family or friends as well. And nothing makes me happier than playing Second Life together with everyone" Prince added with a goofy smile on his face. He wouldn't exchange playing together with everyone for anything in the world, not even three month of his lifespan.

"So, are you okay with the songs that I've picked out?" Prince asked.

"They fit well with the rest of our songs."

"As we have rock as well as slow songs, we can implement all our instruments. I like it"

Since they all agreed with the song selection, Gui promised that he would write down the sheet music for them by the next evening so that they could start practicing. After all he had managed to create completely new music during his lectures before, so simply writing down the notes for an existing song was a piece of cake for him.

* * *

Waking up in the morning Xiao Lan felt a stinging pain in her chest. Deciding, that it wouldn't be a good idea to fall asleep in Gui's class, which was first period, she didn't take any of her medication. If she had started taking it already, the amount she would need later on would also rise faster, making it harder for her to time with playing Second Life, which was also a reason for her decision.

While making breakfast on autopilot, she was pondering what to do today. If she took the time after class to confess to Gui, she could make another check on her list. Confessing early on meant that she would have more time to spent with him in case he said yes and would set her mind free for other things if he turned her down, which was the most likely case. Though how much did dating Gui – or the chance to go on dates at all – mean to her? Was she desperate enough to beg him for at least a trial period if he turned her down or reveal her identity as Prince? If he only loved her as Prince, he didn't love all of her, but at the same time, wasn't Prince the person she was without having to hide behind what society thought of being appropriate behaviour for a female? Did that mean he loved her true self and not her social front? Of course, there was always the possibility to confess as Prince inside of Second Life. Unwillingly an image of Prince and Gui acting all lovey dovey, with Wicked being disgusted and the fangirls squealing in the background creeped up in her mind. While Gui's avatar was hot and the realism level was high, dating him as Prince didn't feel right to her.

There was also the option of Zhuo-gege. He clearly loved her and would go out with her in a heartbeat. But he was like a brother to her, not a possible lover. Using him would be selfish and cruel. She sighed. The chance that she would die a twenty-year-old virgin whose only kisses where in second life was high. At least she could ask Zhuo to hang out with her if she didn't feel like staying inside all day.

With all the pondering she almost missed that breakfast was ready, so she called her brother to eat, both of them running for the bus after they had finished.

In class she couldn't help fidgeting. Tapping her fingers or foot, playing with her pens and all in all anything but concentrating on what they were supposed to do. Her thoughts revolving around the looming confession. While her brother noticed her fidgeting, he knew better than to ask and thankfully Gui was too immersed in writing down the sheet music to notice what his students were doing during their textbook work. When the lesson was finally over, she excused herself from her friends, saying that she needed to speak with Gui, as her spacing of had led to missing part of his lecture, leaving her unable to answer the homework. Her friends believed her excuse, saying they would meet up next period. Having got rid of them, and the classroom finally being clear, she steeled herself and approached Gui.

"Excuse me, Professor. Could I talk to you for a minute?" She couldn't call him Gui as she did in Second Life.

Gui looked up from packing his work.

"Oh, Feng Lan, sure. Let's go to my office. This room will be filled with students for the next lecture soon."

While they walked to his office in silence, Gui was wondering what Feng Lan wanted to talk about. She normally tended to avoid him for reasons unknown to him. So approaching him was somewhat unusual.

When they had arrived in his office, shutting the door, Xiao Lan took a deep breath and looked him directly in the eye.

"I really like you Professor. Would you please go out with me?"

Gui was shocked. A confession was the last thing he would have expected. Though she had tricked him into a date before, that was something she was forced to do by her scheming friends.

"I'm sorry student Feng Lan, but I can't accept your feelings. The only person I love is Prince. That hasn't changed."

She had expected that answer, so she only gave him a sad smile and said.

"I was pretty sure that you would say that. I hope that this won't make things uncomfortable in class." She said, scratching her head awkwardly.

Gui chuckled. Her action seemed somehow familiar to him. Strange.

"Don't worry, you're not the first student to confess to me and probably not the last. Though I have to say, that out of all of them you are the most composed. Most are quite persistent and ask me to give them a few days to proof themselves." He shook his head at the thought of his annoying fangirls. "But why did you confess if you already knew that I would reject you?"

"Because, if there was a small chance that you would say yes, I knew that I would come to regret it if I didn't at least try. Begging for a trial period seems stupid to me. I want you to like me for who I am, guilt-tripping you on a date will only make me more annoying instead of likable. And as you like Prince, I'm probably the wrong gender anyways. At least being rejected leaves my head free to concentrate on other things. I'm sorry for wasting so much of your time. I'll have to go to my next class now. See you tomorrow, Professor." She gave him a big smile and bowed before she left the office, finally able to concentrate again after finishing the task she had set for herself.

* * *

Unlike Xiao Lan who could think clearly, Gui was totally confused, so he decided to visit Wolf in the infirmary during lunch. Wolf wasn't surprised, when Gui came in sitting down in one of the comfy chairs with a sigh. He was already used to it. Whenever something troubled him he came to talk to Wolf, but usually the problem had something to do with Prince. Pouring Gui a cup of tea he asked.

"So what happened with Prince this time? I heard you're going to do another concert tour."

Gui greatfully took the cup of steaming tea, it always helped to relax him.

"This time it isn't about Prince, or at least only indirectly. One of my students confessed to me."

"So? That isn't something unusual for you, is it? Or do you like that student as well?"

"No, that isn't the problem. Most girls start crying or beg me to reconsider. She just shrugged it off, saying she already knew I would say that, just confessing so she wouldn't regret not asking later. And it wouldn't count if I didn't like her for herself. She finished with saying that she would now be able to concentrate on other things. I just don't understand women"

Wolf started to laugh.

"That student sounds pretty fun and down to earth to me. Do I know her?"

Gui considered whether to tell him or not, since Feng Lan wouldn't be happy about landing in the rumour mill, but he knew that Wolf wouldn't tell anybody else.

"Student Feng Lan."

"Isn't that the student who made excuses to meet me, because you let slip I was part of Odd Squad?" Wolf asked for confirmation.

"Yeah. She normally tends to avoid me, so I was pretty surprised."

Wolf raised his eyebrow at that. Could it be that student Feng Lan was actually Prince? She would have reasons to avoid Gui, if she didn't want to be found out. And it would also explain how she heard of him being part of Odd Squad, as Gui had told Prince of him being the doctor of the University Gui was teaching at. Maybe he would find out something during Second Life that night, after all Prince would have to be a good actor to behave normal right after confessing. Though he decided not to tell Gui of his suspicions. If Feng Lan really was Prince, telling Gui would only make things worse if he liked only her in-game self.

"I'm really not the best person to go to for advice on women. After all, Yulian isn't a prime example of how most women behave."

Gui had to agree with that. "You're right. I'll just see how things are tomorrow in class. Will you log in at your usual time?"

"Yes, I don't have much to do at the moment."

"Ok. Thanks again for the tea. See you later."

Leaving behind his troubles, his thoughts started to turn to happier things again. Namely being able to spend countless hours together with Prince, being able to hear his wonderful voice and seeing his happy smile.

 **AN: If you like the story of have wishes for future chapters, please leave a review! I would really appreciate it.**


	3. Chapter 3

If Today Was Your Last Day Chapter 3

 **AN: Thank you for still reading this story and sorry for the long wait. I somehow had no motivation to write anything, so it took me a while to actually start this chapter, though I'm not completely happy with it. Don't worry though, this story won't be abandoned, even if takes quite a time for new updates to come.**

 **A big thank you goes to HappE224, Aeren, Haruchai and Michelle for reviewing. Reading reviews always help to motivate me to start writing again. I also want to thank all the kind people who put this story into their favorites and alert list. You are amazing!**

Online in Second Life

Wolf was discreetly watching Prince for any signs of strange behaviour, but so far didn't see anything weird in how he acted around Gui. Instead, Gui seemed to be the one spacing out until Prince logged in, seemingly still thinking about his student's confession. Did this mean he was wrong with his theory about Feng Lan being Prince or did Prince fall in love with Gui? He silently shook his head and decided to continue observing both Prince and Feng Lan.

Prince on the other hand didn't waste any more time on thinking about his failed confession. After all time _was_ running out for him, so he would use as much of it as he could. As soon as he saw the other members of the band, he basically dragged them to the practice room. The sight of it causing Lolidragon to laugh, creating a tick mark on his head.

"What? I just feel motivated today."

Lolidragon shrugged. "Just looked funny, seeing you dragging them along. Though it's nice to see you motivated for a chance. You didn't seem to enjoy yourself much the last weeks."

Now it was Prince's turn to shrug. "All that stupid paperwork makes coming online feel like a chore, so being able to sing my heart out again, is a welcome change."

Gui handed out the sheet music he had created during class. Seeing Prince having so much fun practicing, motivated all of them, turning the rehearsal into a great success.

"If we continue like this, the concert shouldn't be a problem, even without that much time to practice" concluded Fairsky. The rest of the band agreed. While no one aside from Prince dared to go against Yulian, all of them welcomed this intermission to their routine, resulting into the team putting more effort into practice than for their first tour.

"With how popular the concerts will be, you will once again be a step closer to becoming a legend", Lolidragon, who had been watching the practice, added.

* * *

Waking up, Xiao Lan couldn't help thinking about what Lolidragon had said. It was true, that she was becoming a legend as Prince. But what about herself? Would anyone remember her? In class, Xiao Lan gave it her all to fully concentrate on what Gui was teaching. She had been in pain since waking up that morning, but was stubbornly refusing to take the pain killers. For now, at least, she told herself. If the pain didn't go away until lunch she would cave in and take some medicine. The situation seemed to have one good thing though. Putting her all into participating in class confused Gui, who was not so subtly watching her whenever he could. He looked like a confused puppy, making her inner fangirl squeal at how adorable he looked.

But she was not the only one noticing Gui observing her.

"What did you do? Gui has been glancing at you the whole period", Yun asked her while leaving the classroom.

She just grinned at both of her friends. To tell or not to tell? She normally wouldn't mind telling them, as both had tried to help with her love life before, but she didn't want to risk any rumours getting out. If Zhuo gege heard of her confession, he would be really down and might start a fight with Gui again. That would screw up the preparation for the concert tour as well as waste a lot of the time she had left on fighting. And she also didn't want to suffer her brother's teasing all day. Before she could decide on what to do, she spotted something that completely stopped her earlier train of thought.

A flyer for the upcoming Spring Festival was posted on the bulletin board:

 **Spring Festival Music Contest**

Show your talent – All Solo and Group entries welcome

First Round: Saturday, 1. February University Hall

Successful contestants will have their entries posted on Youtube for voting

Second Round: Online Poll, votes can be cast until February 10th

The ten most voted entries will enter the finals

Final Round: Live Broadcast by XX City's TV Channel, voting by phone

Contestants will have to prepare two songs, one for the first two rounds and one for the finals

Prize: Contest trophy and one year of free university tuition. As there will be scouts present for the final round, contestants might also get contracted.

Contestants are exempt from all homework until after the finals.

This was exactly what she needed. The contest would give her a stage to show the world that she was someone to remember, not just as Prince, but as herself. Sure, Prince was world famous, but she wasn't planning on lifting the mystery of his identity even after her death. So, in the end Feng Lan would have died as a no one, only remembered by her small circle of friends and family. But now she could leave a mark, show the world her singing and be immortalized in the records of the university.

The preparation for the contest would also give her an excuse for being busy during the day, when she had to go to the hospital for a check-up. And she wouldn't have to rise any suspicion by skipping all her homework. After all, who would waste their time on doing homework when they were about to die?

"Planning on participating?" asked Yun after seeing her staring at the poster.

"Definitely", responded Xiao Lan.

"Don't you already have enough work going on with the preparations for the concert tour?" Ying raised her concern.

"That is completely different. I can practice for the concert while I'm sleeping and I would have to wait for the rest of the band anyway. Practicing the songs alone without anyone to accompany me doesn't help much. And they are never online before dinner, as they have either left over work or homework to do. So, I have plenty of time to practice as I wouldn't have to hand in any homework."

"True.", her friends agreed. "And you could always spend the time before the others log on to use the band room to practice for the contest."

"That might work, but I probably won't do it.", Xiao Lan disagreed. "Practicing online won't help with my voice in real life, and Prince's vocal range is different. Furthermore, I don't want to risk Gui finding out my identity if he saw me practicing."

"Speaking of Gui, you didn't tell us why he was staring at you"

Damn, she had hoped to evade that question. So she did the only feasible thing.

She screamed "I'm going to be late for class!" and took off, leaving a dumbstruck duo behind.

"Hey, we have the same class!", they exclaimed and ran after her.

After classes finished for the day, she went to register for the contest, evading any further questions from her friends. As the poster had been hanging there for over a week already, she was the only one in the office to register. The paperwork not only asked the usual like name and address, but also made sure that none of the contestants were already signed for any music contracts, as it would be unfair to the regular participants. That made her pause for a bit. Did Infinite Band count as being under contract? She technically earned in-game money for it, or at least the city treasury did, but it was not a signed contract. And since her vocal range was different from Prince's, she decided that it didn't count. Though before she handed the paperwork in, she had one last question to ask.

"Excuse me ma'am, would it be possible, in case that I win, to give the free year of tuition to someone else?"

The secretary was slightly taken aback by that question, and gave her a once over. The university fees weren't cheap at all Feng Lan didn't look like one of those filthy rich kids.

"Why would you do that?"

She didn't plan on telling some secretary her life story, so she gave a shorter explanation.

"I love singing, but I plan on leaving the university after the semester. So I would like to waive my brother's fees instead."

"Alright my dear, that shouldn't be a problem. Just add it on the paperwork." She turned the altered paperwork to the secretary and in return received a slip that excused her from homework.

"Thank you very much. I hope you have a nice day." Xiao Lan bowed and left the office.

As she didn't have any homework and only had to start preparing dinner in a few hours, she decided to visit a karaoke place, so she could choose which songs to sing for the contest. After singing a few songs for warm up, the difference in vocal range between her and Prince became clear. While it was obvious that she couldn't sing as low as Prince, but higher notes than him, she decided that it wouldn't be wise to choose a song with a too high pitch, so that it wouldn't clash too much with her in-game practice. So instead of driving her vocal range to the limit, she wanted to convince with stability and emotion. She wanted to convey what was important to her, to show what she was feeling, but couldn't say to her friends: I'm still fighting - I'm not giving up – I'm scared, please don't forget me. In the end she was sure that she wanted to sing 'Leave out all the rest' by Linkin Park, but couldn't decide if her other song should be 'Fight Song' by Rachel Platten or 'Try Everything' by Shakira. Both songs gave the feeling of fighting until the end. While the first would show her desperation to fight better, the second would show that there was still so much left that she wanted to do. She would have to decide soon, as she wanted 'Leave out all the rest" as her second song. While it was hauntingly beautiful, it probably wouldn't get her voted into the finals, as it was too dark for a big competition.

On the other side of town, Wolf was turning his PC on to finish some of the paperwork for the infirmary, when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and answered.

"Hi lil' sis, haven't heard from you in a while. Busy with work?"

"Hey big bro", she sounded subdued. "That's actually why I'm calling."

"Did something happen? You sound sad" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Have you by chance taken a look at the updates for the medical records of the students?"

"No, I haven't. I don't like prying, into their matters too much and only check them when a student visits my office. Why?"

"One of your students who visits my clinic was diagnosed with cancer, but refuses treatment. I had hoped that you could speak with her."

Wolf was surprised, the students were way too young to die, after all nowadays living til 200 wasn't uncommon anymore.

"Who is it and why does she refuse treatment?"

"The cancer has already expanded too far, so the chance of a recovery would be less than 5% and she says that she doesn't want to be stuck in a hospital for the rest of her life if she won't recover anyway. The patients name is Feng Lan, have you met her before?."

"I have", he whispered, shocked. Feng Lan had cancer? He couldn't believe it. Now he really hoped that she wasn't Prince. He didn't want to lose a friend. How would Gui react? Did she even tell her family? Her brother didn't seem different in game yesterday.

"How long does she have left?" he enquired, now slightly more composed.

"A month, if she starts treatment maybe three. But any later than Friday and it would probably be too late to start."

"I understand, I'll speak with her tomorrow."

 **AN: Which song would you prefer for the contest? Anything you liked about the chapter or that you disliked and want me to do better next time? I'm thankful for all reviews and constructive critic.**

 **Review answers (might contain slight spoilers, reading at own risk!):**

 **Haruchai: There will definitely be no miracle cure for Feng Lan, don't worry**

 **Michelle: While the relationship between her and Gui might get closer (haven't really decided on it yet), they won't get together. He has already rejected her in favour of Prince, changing his mind if he finds out she was Prince isn't something that Xiao Lan whishes for at that time, or she would have revealed herself.**


	4. Chapter 4

If Today Was Your Last Day Chapter 4

 **AN: Welcome back my loyal readers. A gigantic thank you to Haruchai, HappE224, FairyBookworm and ReaperEir for reviewing on the last chapter, you have no idea how happy you made me. You gave me basically as many reviews in a few days as the chapter before that got in almost a year. That made me so motivated that I directly started this chapter, resulting in getting it done way earlier than I thought I would. Also, seeing the same people coming back enjoying my story really makes me glad to be a writer.**

When Wolf went online, the rest of Odd Squad had already been logged in, with Infinite Band practicing for the concert. Since he didn't want to disturb practice, he had no opportunity to observe Prince, so he watched Wu Quing instead. While he didn't know him in real life, their teams have known each other for quite some time, so he knew that Wu Quing definitely didn't know about his sister's condition. Wu Quing was someone who showed his emotions plain as day, whether it was anger about losing a match or being jealous of Prince. If he knew about the cancer, he wouldn't look as happy as he was now.

Did that mean she wasn't planning on telling anyone? If she really _was_ Prince, Feng Lan wouldn't be able to keep up with this strenuous schedule when she got worse. They would notice that she would log in less often or shorter times. What would she tell them?

His thoughts were interrupted by the banging of a door. That came from the practice room. What happened? When he closed in, he was almost run over by stomping Gui.

"What happened?", he asked slightly worried.

"I can't work together with that asshole." Gui fumed.

"Wicked again?" Looks like it was just the usual spat over Prince.

"Yeah. He glared at me during the whole practice, which kept me from concentrating, ending the rehearsal in total disaster."

"Did he have a reason for glaring at you?" Gui did like clinging to Prince, which would be enough of a reason to annoy Wicked.

 _An hour earlier_

Just as Wicked logged in, he was voice called by Ying and Yun.

"Hey Wicked."

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"We noticed Gui stealing glances at Xiao Lan the whole time during class today. Do you know why? She wouldn't tell us. We thought that he might have found out her identity."

"WHAT?" Now Wicked was really annoyed. "I have no idea. But I'll definitely find out" He cut off the call and marched over to Gui, who was just walking down the hall. He started accusing him without as much as a greeting.

"Why have you been stealing glances at Xiao Lan?", he asked angrily.

"None of your business.", reflected Gui and continued walking, but Wicked would have none of it and stopped him.

"Xiao Lan is my friend, so it is my business if you are stalking her. Not to mention that it is illegal for a teacher to date his student."

"You are well to remember that I'm a professor, so get your hands of me or I'll report you.", he tried to shake off Wicked's grip. "And why would I even want to stalk her? Prince is the only one I'm interested in."

Wicked loosened his grip, but didn't let go.

"If you don't tell me why you have been staring at her during class, I will be the one to report you, for harassing a female student."

Gui didn't want to tattle on Feng Lan, but he couldn't take the chance of Wicked reporting him. If that happened, everyone would find out what caused it. So just telling Wicked was the lesser of two evils. He sighed in resignation.

"Two days ago, after class student Feng Lan confessed to me. I turned her down of course, as I love Prince, but she just acted like she couldn't care less about the result, which honestly confused me. So, I observed her during class, to see if her behaviour changed at all. I did not watch her because I have feelings for her."

Wicked was shocked and barely registered anything after the words 'Feng Lan confessed to me'. So, Xiao Lan had fallen in love with Gui, but he turned her down. Did that mean that he lost or not? After all she didn't seem to have any feelings for him, but she also had no chance with Gui. He didn't know how to feel. Should he be angry at Gui for getting the love of his live? Happy that Gui rejected her? Sad that she didn't love him?

Before he could really think about it, he was messaged by Prince.

"Fairsky has logged in, so we should start practicing."

But he couldn't concentrate during practice at all. Seeing Gui happily smile at Prince and praise him, he couldn't help but glare at the bard. You don't deserve to smile at him like that, you have already rejected him! He is mine!

After Gui had told Wolf what had occurred before the practice, Wolf could imagine why Wicked was so angry with Gui. But sadly, that was just another confirmation to his theory of Prince being Feng Lan. After all, Wicked wouldn't be angry at Gui just for turning down a confession. Gui being confessed to by the one Wicked loved would make more sense. And it was well known that Wicked was not only friends with Wu Quing in real life, but also was one of the few people that could contact Prince outside of second life.

While Gui was complaining to Wolf, Prince who was still in the practice room with Wicked, also tried to find out the reason for his weird behaviour.

"Why were you glaring at Gui, Zhuo gege?

"He told me that you confessed to him.", answered Wicked with a sad voice.

Prince turned red from anger and embarrassment.

"Ugh, that no good tattle tale. He shouldn't have said anything. Why did he tell you anyway?"

In her mind, there was no logical explanation, why Gui would tell Wicked, whom he hated, about her confession. He might brag about it, if he knew her identity, but then he wouldn't have turned her down in the first place. And she didn't think Gui was someone who just told other people's secrets.

"Ying and Yun asked me, if I knew why Gui was staring at you in class. So I decided to ask Gui."

"Ask?" Prince wasn't convinced.

Wicked winced slightly.

"I might have blackmailed him with telling the director that he was stalking a female student…"

"How dare you!" Now Prince was really pissed off. "That was none of your business."

"Can't you see that I was just worried for you?" And jealous, added his brain. "With how forward he behaves with Prince, I didn't want to risk him doing anything in real life if he had found out who you are."

"While I'm thankful that you are looking out for me Zhuo gege, I'm not the little girl I used to be anymore. I can fight my own fights. And I don't think that it was just because you were worried about my virtue. I'm sorry, Zhuo gege, but to me you're just that, a brother. I can't accept your feelings."

Having confessed her feelings to Gui, she decided not to string Wicked along any further. It just wasn't fair towards him.

Wicked's last hope of having a chance with Xiao Lan was now completely destroyed.

"I see. Could you please give me some space for a while?" He asked in a sad tone. He couldn't stay around her happily playing with Gui, knowing that he would never be together with her. When he saw her worried face, he added "Don't worry. I'll still attend practice, without disturbing them from now on. Just don't expect me to hang around outside of them" Without another word he left the practice room, leaving Prince behind alone.

Prince sat down depressed, face in his hands. Now he had lost Wicked. Hopefully he calmed down before it was too late. He didn't want to spend his last weeks being avoided by his friend.

When Xiao Lan got up the next morning, she noticed that she had a mail from the university. She was told to report to the infirmary in her free period. Just great. She had totally forgotten that the hospitals sent reports to the university infirmary to keep the health records updated. Now she had to talk to Wolf dage about her cancer. Just what she needed right now. As if her mood wasn't bad enough already. She couldn't change the regulations, but she could deal with the person who had caused the first problem. So she glared at Gui during the whole period, until it was time for her appointment, leaving behind a very confused Gui, who was wondering what he did this time.

When she arrived at the infirmary, Wolf dage was already inside, sitting at his desk drinking tea.

"Good morning, sir" She had to keep herself from calling him Wolf dage again.

"Good morning student Feng Lan. Take a seat. Do you want some tea?" he asked gently.

Xiao Lan sat down on one of the plush chairs in the office part of the room.

"Yes, please. Thank you."

He poured her some tea, hoping that it would make this talk more comfortable.

"You probably know why I called you her.."

"It's about my medical record, isn't it? You must have noticed that it was updated."

"Actually, I was told about my sister about it. She works at the hospital."

That was new information for Xiao Lan, she didn't even know that Wolf had a sister.

"She mentioned that you didn't wish to undergo treatment, could you tell me why?"

She sighed. So he wanted to change her mind, too bad that she wouldn't let him.

"As your sister has probably told you, I wouldn't have much time left even with treatment, three month at most, as the chance for being cured are less than five percent. The treatment would make me feel horrible and would have to be quite often, so I wouldn't be able to spend much time with my friends or family, or even go outside in the last stages. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a hospital, I want to use all of it to the fullest, even if it will shorten the time I have left." She looked down on her hands, folded in her lap.

"Is that the reason for the new concert tour, Prince?"

"Yes, one of them…" she started, the stared at him in shock.

"H-H-How did you find out that I'm Prince, Wolf dage? Does Gui also know?"

Wolf gave her a sad smile.

"I had my suspicions the first day you came to the infirmary. You called me Wolf dage, even though Gui only told Prince about me being here and you look like Prince. But Second Life doesn't let people choose their gender, so I didn't spend much time thinking about it. But with the way Wicked reacted after hearing about your confession, I was sure about it."

"WHAT? Gui told you about my confession?", she went red "That useless idiot. Is there anyone he didn't tell?"

Wolf chuckled.

"I don't think he spoke to anyone else about it. He normally comes to me when he is confused about something, usually Prince. He didn't know what to make of your reaction.

Anyway, I realised that you didn't tell your family about the cancer, so I decided to confront you about being Prince. I want to be there for you when you need me. I am your honorary brother after all."

He gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"Thank you Wolf dage. I can really need a friend right now. My family wouldn't know how to handle this. My parents are travelling most of year, I probably see them more often in Second Life than outside. And my brother can't take care of himself at all, he can't even make himself cereals. If he knew, he would try to baby me and create even more work with it in the end. Wicked doesn't even want to see me anymore because of my confession to Gui and on top of that the pain from the cancer is getting worse.", she ranted at him, her voice shaking more with every sentence. In the end tears started streaming down her face, the first since she had gotten the diagnosis.

Wolf took her in his arms and patted her head, like he did in the game.

"There, there. Let it all out. I'm sure Wicked will come around, he just needs a bit of time. After all he has had feelings for you for eight years, so getting turned down must have been heartbreaking to him.", he comforted her, and added with a cheeky grin

"If worst comes to worst your brother could always move in with Lolidragon, I'm sure her family has kitchen staff or is at least rich enough to rebuild if he blows up ther kitchen"

That made Xiao Lan giggle.

"I'm sure my brother wouldn't mind moving in with Lolidragon, he's flirting with her often enough."

Wolf was glad that he could make her smile, but knew that he had some serious topics left to discuss.

"Are you sure about the concert tour, Prince? I'm not sure if you will be able to go without medications for such a long time later on and if you could handle it, the stress wil shorten your life span."

"I know, Wolf dage", she admitted resignedly, "but I want to do it. I know that there will be many things, that I will never be able to do, so I at least want to go down as a legend in Second Life. I planned the schedule with my cancer in mind, so that I would have a one week buffer for the final concert which should assure that I will be able to finish the tour, even I don't live the full month."

"All right", he finally accepted her decision. "But please come to me if you're not feeling welland don't log in if the pain is too much."

"Thank you for not pushing me into getting treatment."

"That is nothing you need to thank me for, I can understand you decision. Is there anything else you want to talk to me about?"

She shook her head.

"See you in Second Life dage" she called, waving at him. Leaving the room and turning down the corridor she almost ran into Gui, gave him a glare and marched on without a word.

"Did my student Feng Lan visit you again?" he asked Wolf, remembering his last encounter with his student in the infirmary.

"Yes she did", acknowledged Gui, but didn't expand on it.

"Geez, she must be having horrible cramps. Her temper is so horrible that she has been glaring the whole day"

 **AN: Since I only got three answers on the song choice, I decided to open a poll on my profile in hope to get a more decisive vote on it. Deciding on a song with a 2:1 vote didn't seem fair to me**

 **Review answers:**

 **Haruchai: I'm glad that you like the songs I chose. At first I only eatched Yuri on Ice because I fell in love with the music, one opening that I never skipped. Got into the series quite late, so I binge watched the whole season. Music is my basic inspiration while writing tragic stories, though somehow not for happy go lucky ones. Kinda strange**

 **HappE224: Gui has no reason to love Feng Lan, he barely knows her and doesn't know that she is Prince. So he has no reason to interact with her outside of class. In the novel/manga he only acknowledged her after he found out she was Prince, and their fight against the dictator made them spent a lot of time outside Second Life together. He would probably come to love Feng Lan if he spent enough time with her, but time is the one thing that she doesn't have.**

 **FairyBookworm: I'm glad that you liked the chapter so much, I wasn't sure about it, as I found my writing style somewhat lacking but didn't know how to write it any better. Knowing that you will read the story even if it takes me a while to update is a huge relief. This fandom is really small, so I'm happy to have such a loyal reader to count on.**


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